


Leaving the Nest

by Mystical_Firefly_Avenger



Category: Fly Away Peter - David Malouf
Genre: Emotions, Guilt, Introspection, The power of friendship, World War I, You Decide, or is it love?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-03 22:51:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16334753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mystical_Firefly_Avenger/pseuds/Mystical_Firefly_Avenger
Summary: Ashley had heard Jim approach the house and met him on the veranda, same as he had every day for over a year."I enlisted."The words fell from Jim's lips quietly, softly, and drove the air from Ashley's lungs.





	Leaving the Nest

**Author's Note:**

> Ashely struggles to deal with Jim enlisting.

Ashley had stayed sitting on the veranda, gaze fixed resolutely on the distant horizon and the sound of Jims retreating footsteps on the wood of the veranda echoing in his ears. The weight of Jim’s decision sat like an icy stone at the bottom of his gut, leeching the warmth of the dawn light from his skin. Ashley knew that the decision was Jim’s alone to make. He always had known that enlisting was a possibility in the mind of his friend, but in that moment Ashely wanted nothing more than for it to be a nightmare.

The crisp air that stang his throat with every shaky breath denied such a possibility. Ashely rested his head in his hands and tried to think past the writhing turmoil of emotions he felt to figure out why Jim had acted so suddenly. For such a gentle soul who delighted in watching and nurturing all things living, what had influenced him to volunteer for a world of carnage? It chilled his soul to think that Jim was able to be swayed to do something that was so at odds with his nature, but there was nothing Ashley could do to stop his friend’s departure.

Frustration welled up inside him in a mounting wave that threatened to overflow the brittle banks of his self-control. It was directed not only at Jim’s naivety, but at the helplessness of his situation and himself for protecting it. The property and the neighbouring settlements were so disconnected from the realities of the world that the people who lived there simply did not understand the merciless and uncaring hand of conflict. They did not know how callously the maw of death swallowed sinners and innocents equally. It dawned on him that as a man who had seen the world firsthand, he should have been able to help Jim understand it, not enable the innocent ignorance by holding his silence. The thought dawned on him, bitter and thick on his tongue, mingling with the burn of frustration into damning guilt.

The house’s great presence at his back was no longer a comfort and Ashley stood abruptly, striding away from the house in an effort to escape the reminder of the inevitable seeping from its time-weathered walls. Ashely’s fingers curled into fists, nails biting into the flesh of his palms as he walked, dew dampening his trousers up to his knees. He wanted to lash out at something, take out his anger and frustration on those responsible for starting the war Jim had enlisted for, though at that moment in the paddock, there was no-one but himself and the soft sounds of the land rousing to the call of day.

The swallows flitted through the tall grasses chasing insects on sharp, delicate wings. Ashley lifted his eyes to watch them flying freely in their dance. To him, the birds Jim diligently watched over seemed unbound from the troubles of the earth. Safe in a way that the man that quietly watched them was no longer. Ashley cursed the unfairness of it all, frustration slowly draining away to leave him in the cold grasp of fear for his friend’s life. He wondered if the birds would still be there when his friend returned from the war.

Ashley did not want to consider the possibilities of Jim not returning to the haven for if he did, he felt he might be sick right there in the paddock and every day that he waited for the war to end with no notice of his friend’s survival. He gazed out at the land set gleaming by the dawn and knew that he could not bear to wait there only to read of his passing in the region newspaper printed with impersonal formality. Ashley swallowed hard, the course of action he needed to take was clear in his mind. He turned and started back towards the house, sun now bright enough to warm his back. _After all_ , he thought with a cynical burst of humour, _I_ _always did like to travel_.


End file.
